Student debt rises to $914B, NY Fed says

Debt from educational loans in the United States rose 1.1 percent to $914 billion in the second quarter, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Outstanding student debt increased from $904 billion three months earlier, the New York Fed reported yesterday. The majority of the loans, taken out by students and their parents, are backed by the U.S. government.

Ninety-day delinquency rates for student loans increased to 8.9 percent from 8.69 percent in the first quarter, the Fed said. Since the peak in household debt in the third quarter of 2008, student-loan debt has increased by $303 billion, while other forms of debt fell a combined $1.6 trillion.

The loan totals are based on figures from a nationally representative random sample provided by the Equifax credit bureau.

The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimated in March that student debt reached the $1 trillion mark. About 15 percent of that is private, issued by banks and other lenders.

-- Bloomberg News